Tag Archives: Philly

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 59 … Olympus TG-4 … The Bars That Bind

March 28, 2016 streetshooter 14 Comments

To start, I have not been able to shake the sick feeling inside me of not Having Andre’ the Fuji X100s in my life. Olivier fell in love with him when he was here a few weeks ago and I didn’t pay attention cause I had Serendipity the Olympus Pen F.

It’s about your Natural Field of View, well, mine in this case but you get the idear. My NFoV is 35mm. Of course I can see any FOV but whenI’m on a walk-a-bout and see something that interest my eye, heart and mind, I am seeing the frame in my mind as 35mm. This has been happening since way back in the last century.

So, I got the Fuji X100 then the X100s and now, well, Serendipity and all her lenses are sold off. I don’t miss her. I bought a new Silver Fuji X100T and will name it Andre’.

I love the Olympus Pen F and it’s an amazing camera but for me, too many options. Those options are of course the lenses or FOV. I don’t want that option, never did. I have my stance in the world. I’m content with that stance. The Oly and lenses are not politically correct for me. Now with the Fuji X100T and the Ricoh GR II, I’m all good to go.

Sometimes in life, we need constraints and have them impose themselves on us even if we are unaware that we have or need them. I need them. My vision and thoughts run rampid and go all over the place because I have to decide what lens I want t use.

So, It’s a done deal and by tomorrow at 10:00am, all the lenses will be sold off. I will continue my journey and love my vision again because I’m not clouded any more. The photo above kinda tells the story in my mond. I mean it’s a photo but I made it from the thoughts and feeligs inside me.

Tomorrow, Andre’ and I start our life together, again. I’m excited and he’s on the shelf flirting with Penelope the GRD4.

Seeya all tomowwor and till then, be blessed on your journey.

………. shooter out ……….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 56 … Olympus Pen F … Romance your Work

March 16, 2016 streetshooter 8 Comments

Ya know, Serendipity the Olympus Pen F is a fine young lady and she knows how to slow and calm down the Ole’ shooter. So I’m walking down Market Street and I see this guy sitting under the cover for the buses and he’s lost in his world like I’m lost in mine. I have Serendipity in my hand and her neck strap is wrapped around my wrist. So she’s sees the guy right away and starts sending vibrations up my arm to wake me and get ready.

Ok, a few things here …

First … my intent is a double sided intent with the camera strap. I use a neck strap and I can have the camera around my neck or just hold it and wrap the strap around my wrist. I know I should be more focused on the strap procedures but really, I like to stretch out sometimes.

Second … Maybe when I feel Serendipity vibrating my arm to get me ready to see a photo, maybe that’s really a tremor from my essential tremors. Maybe it’s not my camera at all and maybe my camera is just that, a friggin camera, a tool like my hammers that insist on smashing my thumb sometimes. I could say my hammers have a sense of humor but see, youse think this is all bullshit and humor me and really thing that being close to a camera and talking about intent is nonsense. I mean, lets be real, lets keep things in perspective.

FUCK NO! Maybe all that shit is really the truth. Well, if you believe that it’s fine but I am a romantic and I believe that….ohhh wait a sec…. my ride is here to take me to never never land… oh yeah…I can’t keep Don waiting….

Don , you know… Don Quixote. He wants me to make photos of the battle against the windmills attacking the trucks on Market Street……

I’ll be back……

I’m back. So what am I writing about? Well, we go thru life and we have choices to make. As a Human Being with a camera, we do what we do to support our families, our dreams and even our electric bills. It’s noble to be one of the crowd. I’t a duty we all share and have bestowed upon us to support society and to atleasy pay the bills on time.

Many, many people are stuck in a mundane existance and they flirt with life everyonce in a while.

So, when you take you camera out and make photos, the mindset you place on everything is the result you get and actually expect something different. The group I am with in the VA calls that insanity and we earned the right to be and say that.

So, I will continue to call Serendipity to come to work and we will go out and make photos together. She will no doubt vibrate in my hand to get me ready. Life needs romance for us to breathe. No, not just with your loved ones but with the world. We needto be able to breathe images and when we look at people, have enought sensitivity to see the demons and dragons and angels that live with them. No one is immune from these things and if you think I’m crazy, well, hell yeah, I’m crazy enough to see that people are caught by good things and bad. I see them as innocence lost and when I make a photo, I like to think in the photo, I have expelled all that from the existance of the image and it can live free.

If your out there and making photos and just going around looking for things….if your not in a romance with life and photography, what are you then?

Color, Dreamcatcher, Street, Street Photography

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 53 … On the Street …OMG … I’m SeEiNg cOloRs … Olympus Pen F

March 9, 2016 streetshooter 12 Comments

I arrived in town and was on Market Street when, well…I had a moment. I fell to my knees and thanked Momma Nature for making it 70F. Of course I couldn’t get up to easy but it was worth it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to kneel on the hard concrete sidewalk? I had to pay homage to Mother Nature for making it warm so me poor bones could defrost.

It’s starting to come around for me and Serendipity the Oly Pen F. I think she has me slowing down and finding photos I don’t normally seek. I mean, I am enjoying just the moments without any restrictions or guidelines. Of course, this won’t last but I let her have her way.

There’s a sense of freedom that I am really excited about. I mean, sure, other cameras may have that also but the Pen F kinda reinforces the joy of working. Imagine that. I have some amazing cameras and for sure very desirable. The thing is, I do believe the Pen F will be an amazing camera. How can it not be with a name like Serendipity.

I been using it with the mode dial in the center. I call this Flat. Meaning I want a color image I can mess with in LR. The jpegs out of the camera are excellent but I still need to see my presets and thoughts take shape. So far so good. I haven’t had the need to crop anything and that’s a testament to the finder. It’s of course accurate but it has a nice brightness and contrast to it. I programmed the red record button to SOVF. It’s kinda like an OVF but different. If you let yourself immerse in the camera, then it and other things are magic.

My kit at the moment is the 17mm 1.8, 25mm 1.8 and the 45mm 1.8. This gives me the Leica Trinity… 35, 50 & 90. I gotta tell ya, it’s nice weather and I’m gonna be working my tail till it’s tired and then again. Polly and Suzanne got the Pen F and I will go out with them on Friday. That’s always a fun time. They both have become very acclimated to the streets. It makes me happy that they have found their way.

The color from the Pen F is thebest I have seen. The Leica M has wonderful color but for some reason, I prefer this. Maybe it’s not so clinical. I mean, the color seems natural and vibrant before you work on the files. Reminds me of Alex Webb. His color knocks me out. So then maybe, the Pen F is as good as the Leica. Shhhh, did I say that?

…………………………..be blessed my friends, seeya tomorrow……………………….

Black & White, Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 49 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F … GASP!…Mode 2

February 26, 2016 streetshooter 4 Comments

OOC

Well, Serendipity and I just got back from a meeting of the “Intergalactic Raw Shooters United”, Planet Earth, Philadelphia Chapter. I’m a long time member and I even eat it RAW. Hey, hey…. oysters and clams….ok, sheeeesh. Serendipity felt nervous and clung to my chest. I told her to relax and all is ok. (It really wasn’t ok cause all the Raw shooters were looking at her cause they know she’s right now a JPEG’er. So I stood there with all eyes on Serendipity and got very protective. She said to me, Don….let’s split. (She is the first camera in photographic history to call me Don) The she said, Don…let me mentor you on some things I can do.

OOC

So she told me to work one Mode at a time and to really give it a shot. So I set her on Mode 2. Now there are some things that I need as a contsant in Photography. The one I’m discussing here is the PRINT!. I use that term to mean, the finished photo. Maybe it’s on the screen whatever but it’s a print if it’s in a finished state. So I normally shoot Raw and process in LR and find my vision. Well, Serendipity has me trying Mode 2 and getting a JPEG. (The HORROR).

OOC

I have a vision for many of my photos. It’s born in my heart years ago. Then The Heart sent it by courier to my Brain. So, whn I’m out there making photos, I have a preset in my mind and a few variations on a theme, that when I get to LR, I can find that vision and start from there. Some call this Presets. Well, I guess they are presets but they have to be a start to satisfy not preconceptions but, expectations. Serendipity has presets in her and I think all her brothers and sisters do too. Unfortunately, many of the Pen F’s will go unnamed, pity.

The thing is, many cameras have modes or presets whatever but I never ever liked any of them enough to stop using RAW. Now because, I don’t have Raw, I’m loving the JPEGs from Serendipity. Ilove them so much that I could just use her like this. More than likely I’ll do Raw when Adobe releases it but I will definitely use R+LF.

OOC

The files are very elastic and easy to work. I also find that for me, not much is required to get it right. Most of these are OOC and if it’s not marked, I did something to make what I feel.

Let me clarify something. The idea of a preset or a mode comes under fire by many. The general consensus is, using a preset is like mass producing the images. I understand that but definitely strongly disagree. It’s true that if we all use a same preset, like Mode 2 and keep the settings the same, well we end up with a similar look to the image….. That’s a load of crap.

“No eyes ever shall nor ever will, see what I see now”. (MBW) See, Margaret Bourke-White knew that even if she used the same Pen F Presets her work would be different because her time and place and subject is unique. So I thought about this for many, many um… well a log time. My conclusion is that yes modes and presets set up the concept of mass produced photos. The idea is destroyed because like Margaret, we all have different Here and Now and everything, so we are all using similar things to get different results.

So lets all agree to disagee and just bear in mind that using the modes in the Pen F really will provide a freedom of vision and still be individual.

Serendipity calls me and I won’t keep the young lady waiting…………

Black & White, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 48 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F … MOJO!

February 25, 2016 streetshooter Leave a comment

The winds were howling all night due to the crazy weather patterns. I awoke a few times and then I stayed awake and went to the office to see my camera friends. They were on the shelves in the cabinet except for the new girl in town. She was sitting next to the PC named Sara. So, Serendipity told me she was anxious to see the city and make some photos. I agreed and we headed out. She said she wanted to be close to my heart so she wore a neck strap.

OOC

I haven’t figured the camera out completely and prolly never will. I just need to have a synergism with it and be able to do my work without intrusions from it. One thing I don’t get is Metering. I like to set metering to a Fn button and be able to go from average to spot, like real fast. I don’t have that yet. I’m holding off about reading the manual. I have not done that yet. I want to see how I intuitively adapt to the camera. So far very good. I am not at the point where I can just let go and get absorbed in making photos butI feel that’s what I was striving for. Not sure about that. I like the way Serendipity and I are together.

I’ve never had a camera where the OOC jpegs were just right. Now that I can’t use raw I’m getting into the processing engine in the camera. I will do raw but i’ll do it with the jpeg attached. The color shot up above, that’ OOC. The B&W above, OOC. I gotta tell ya, I love that front dial. I’ts nice to just change the screen real quick and see what ya wanna see. So I guess when Adobe finally releases the ACR for the Pen F, I’ll do raw and keep the jpegs as notes.

The hardest thing for me with this camera is breaking habits. I am focused on doing so tho’. First habit to break is the screen vs finder. I don’t like finders but I like them enough to torture myself. It’s very bright and clear but I still lost a few shots. Not because of the camera but because of my habit of using the screen. So I put the screeen away and have just the finder to use. I saw a shot and raised the camera and intuitively, looked at the screen, quickly, I used the finder. So, I have to break that and I will.

The other habit is the 35mm only habit. 35mm is my natural field of view.So it’s just a very comfy way for metowork. I started to challenge this 25 years ago and switched to a 50mm fov but always went back to 35mm.

So I went out with Serendipity and she had the 25mm 1.8 and that’s 50mm for me. It’s a nice feeling cause it’s not foreign to me cause I been beating myself up for 25 years trying to change my fov.

The idea is not so much a change of fov but to force a new way of thinking and seeing. The Pen F for some reason has a way of just adding to the experience of making photos. Maybe it’s due in part because of the excitement of a new camera but I’m old enough to know that’s just a start. The Pen F has MOJO. I’ts got a vibe that in an elegant manner, makes you want to work. I will say this. more then most shooters, famous and not so, I challenge a camera and photography more because of where I usually work. I work center city Philly and have done so for decades. So, inspiration is hard to come by. The Pen F is inspiring. It has me examining things I have done so many, manytimes. I find a lasting memory and click.

OOC

Ya know how ya get a groove on? I mean the streets are moving life around and you kinda slip into the clock of life. Then you are at one with everything and you have your camera with you. The feeling that photos are around and you just need to feel and find them.

The street is about life and life is about time. Time moves along and drags life along with it. We just need to bein tune with it all. There are many cameras that can be with you and many will create some kinda intrusion and break the flow of time. There are many cameras that can be with you and just be a part of your life on the street and just flow with you rhru time and space.

The Pen F is just that camera. I am just amazed at how the magic and mojo are in here.

I’ll be out again tomorrow and make some photos and post. Don’t expect any bad press from me on this camera. Ihaven’t anything bad to say.

I’m not getting paid from Oly and don’t really care what they do or say. Serendipity is my girl and our love affair is growing stronger day by day.

………………….end transmission……………………………………………………….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 47 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F

February 24, 2016 streetshooter 6 Comments

It was a bad night sleep again. I think the ghost and demons decided to allow me to have some peace of mind. Well, I didn’t sleep anyway because Serenity the Pen F was dancing in my mind. I ws restless cause the new girl was enticing and I wanted to be with her. So awoke and sipped a cup of Coffee, actually inhaled is proper. Can ya believe it, rain. I mean rain that teases you. See, the rain that is pouring, well we all know to stay home and watch HSN and fall asleep on the couch. The teasing rain is the kind that just is a very light drizzle. It’s not reall rain but it teases and tempts you to come out. So, what happens usually is, ya get out in the teasing rain and say, “Yeah, I got this”. Then, well the plumber has a sense of humor causethen the RAIN starts. Your camera has to be sheltered etc.

I had teasing rain and decided that above all, I will spend time with Serenity and keep her protected from rain, mother rapers, father rapers and politicians running for President.

OOC

I follow MU43.com because I lived there a few years as Admin. I like some of the people there and i read comments about things. I generally know that if I read a negative comment about something, then it’s perfect for me.

See, all over the web, ppl are saying the front dial on the Pen F is a mistake. NOOOOOO! It’s perfect if you are a shooter and not a camera critique. I am not a jpeg shooter usually. I do raw. The Pen F isn’t supported by Adobe yet for some reason. What I do like is…. Most times I like to see my screen in B&W. There are times I want to see it in color because I want to. This doesn’t mean I’m doing jpeg, it just means I want to see the screen the way I feel and not have to get my manual out and find in the menu how to do that.

The dreaded front dial does this instantly. The placement is also under criticism. Bunk! With the camera at the eye, your finger goes right to the front dial without searching and then,,, Eureka! I can change from B&W to Color in an instant and see how I desire to without taking a course in the camera. I am actually doing jpeg with the Pen F and I use that front dial to see how Serendipity sees. It’s a beautiful collaboration.

OOC

So, Oly calls the front dial the creative dial and they are right. It’s not in the way, it’s where it needs to be to be creative with it. Just think about photos and whay you want to do and don’t look for flaws others are dwelling on. There is always negative and positive energy. The on/off switch is under fire. Well, for me, it’s perfect. It’s out of the way and never gets used accidently and only when you need it. It rolls very nice and has a sweet line on it so you know by looking if you are on/off.

The need for a grip. NADA!

I like a camera to be a part of me. I want to feel it become at one with me and not as if it were a tool. Now be nice in yer thoughts. Serendipity the Pen F is a female. Why, Oly named her a Female. Pen F is F = Female. it’s not Pen M = Male or Pen TG = Transgender. So I love females. I have a few in my life. Imagine that. When you are with a female, (ladies may even think of the camera as Male, that’s an individual choice but I’m writing this and I’m with my girl Serendipity so she’s a Female and youse do what the hell you want I’m just saying you need to name your camera and gender is important in developing your relationship)

So there’s a gentle feeling holding the Pen F. She kinda likes to slide a little in my fingers. Most don’t like this and want a grip. I don’t. I used LeicaM’s for decades and never had a grip issue.

OOC

For Maria

So far there’s only 1 thing I am uneasy about. The Screen. Yes. it’s bright and sharp. Yes, it’s a nice size and does what you need, easily. It’s articulated and moves around nicely and you can do selfies. It tilts and all ya want. I just wish it tilted at the camera position and not have to swing out. I learned about tilting screens from Ray Sachs and the Sony Nex 5 we were both using. With that, you just tilted the screen and you were still discreet. With this on the Pen F, you swing it out and your not as discreet anymore.

It is by no means a deal breaker but a little thing that may bug me later. I’ll chat with my shrink and my screen shrink mentor Ray and try to resolve it.

OOC

This is not a review. Please don’t think I care about reviewers causeI don’t. This is an ongoing investgation with findings from me. If you know anyone from Philadelphia you will understand what I am about to say. If not, you will anyway.

The Olympus Pen F is BANGING. I’ll post more shortly and hopefully you can get out of this what I do.

Be blessed my friends…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 46 … Olympus Pen F … (Serendipity)

February 23, 2016 streetshooter 10 Comments

(photos are with GRD II)

Well, you all know I name my cameras. Walker and Garry left the home front thru eBay and are no longer my cameras. So I no longer have a Pen EP-5. They sacrificed their well being so that I could acquire my new camera, the Olympus Pen F. I sold some lenses also that I never used anymore so all in all, it worked out fine financially. I must admit that it took over a week to get the camera because it was lost in traffic. But SHE is home and we are bonding. I’ll have some photos in my next blog.

I always ask youse all to help in the naming process and many great names are presented. This time, I decided on a name before I had the camera. The name is”Serendipity“. I am going to ty to live to the name. I mean I am always focused on what I want and what I am looking for and even how I plan to satisfy those elements. I guess it’s a way of being in the here and now without much force to effect an outcome. I mean I want to just BE and instead of constantly searching for photos, maybe let them find me. I teach that and I guess it’s time to rethink my own process. I just want the freedom of thought and feelings and for that to be in my photos

I guess I do that all the time but I need an excuse to beat myself up. I seek the synergism between photography and my part of it. That totally encompasses all the facets of camera. process and vision and all the things I didn’t mention. The idea for me is to be out in life, on the streets and to have an energy of serendipity lingering over my heart and mind. It’s not that I won’t be seeking photos, it’s just that i want a natural feeling when photos find me. I want the collaboration of life and the energy of life to find me and I want to be awake and have that energy mix with me and together find harmony and peace.

Why is this important to me? Well, maybe because the last few weeks I am afraid to sleep. I have nightmares that put me in a place I was at as a young soldier. I thought that when I left, I escaped the ravages of war. I thought I would at last have peace but I never found it. I can’t sleep and when I drift off, I am horrified that I won’t wake up. I won’t take sleeping meds because I can’t force myself to wake. I only have a sense of what peace is when I am making photos. It’s the only thing in my life that offers me the escape and that brings together the energies that surround me.

We all have reasons for what we do.I’m not seeking salvation or any kind or repentance. I’m looking for the solitude and a certain peace of mind that maybe isn’t shared but doesn’t have to be. I know my work defines me. I know I don’t really care if anyone relates or understands it. I do and that’s all that matters.

That being said, the Pen F is a baaaaad ass camera. I’ll introduce youse to her in a little bit. She’s silver and very elegant.

Her name is Serendipity.

shooter out……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 45 … Ricoh GRII … Lost in the Familiar (6 pack)

February 9, 2016 streetshooter 14 Comments

Being lost is probably a shooters dream. Not knowing where you are, what your feeling being in an undiscovered region. Very romantic and actually stimulating, especially visually. Being lost in the familiar surrounding that is familiar to you, well, not so easy and rather unsettling. I’ve heard it taught that photographers are supposed to see as if seeing the subject for the fist time. I always felt that we should see as if it’s the last time. I now question both methods and kinda feel that the shooters truth is someplace in the middle.

We walk the paths of photographers before us and try to find a new way to see the subject matter. We look for the souls of lost photos and hope to be able to breathe new life into ourselves and our work.

If we wander around the familiar and feel as if we are at home base, is that being complacent? If we wander around and feel as if we are lost in the familiar, is that wishful thinking? A famous photographer said to me decades ago, “Life is but a Dream”. Well, I lived by that statement in part and in whole my entire life. So, when do I get to wake up? What do I find when and if I do? Do I get to have a camera handy so I can make photos of the awakening?

Why do I see things and most times they aren’t like seeing the first time or last time, just odd in the here and now. In my case it’s not odd it’s natural for me. Does that make me odd? Do I care? NO! Yes! Of course, I do. I won’t admit that I care but I do even if I don’t.

I wonder if others get thoughts like this. I wonder when I am making a photo and someone is in it and looking directly at me, what is the experience like for them? I know it depends on the person just like it depends on the shooter and I feel there is no common answer to this question. So maybe as I make each photo as an individual, just maybe, as crazy as it seems, each person in the photo is having a unique experience. So let’s assume I’m on to something here. Let’s assume that for once in my life but not the first for once but just this for once, I have it right, not totally in full right because there’s no such thing in the world but right as right can be for me and also for my readers and friends. (My Shrink at the VA too.)

So I am lost in familiar places. Maybe it’s not the streets where I’m lost but in me poor mind. Maybe it’s both and I am having an awakening of sorts. Maybe not and maybe I don’t care enough to figure it out. Maybe I think too much and try to justify what I’m doing. Dunno and don’t really care.

I’ve been on the streets of Philadelphia since the late 60’s making photos. I’m never bored. I am always loving making photos in the familiar places that others get complacent in. I don’t and am happy for that.

For me it’s about the here and now and not beeing lost at all. Maybe the familiar place I’m lost in isn’t the streets abut my mind. Maybe I lost my mind or better yet, maybe I’m lost in my mind. Maybe Garry was right. “It’s all a Dream” and maybe when I have my camera with me, I wake up.

How about you?

……………………………………….end transnission…………………………..

Black & White, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 43 … Olympus TG-4 … One ShoT pEr ShOOt …Ralph the Squirrel

January 25, 2016 streetshooter 4 Comments

They say, “Lifes a bitch and then you die”. Ok, I got something to say about that. Everyone close your eyes…..sit back and I’m taking you to the start of the growing season here in Philly. Keep em closed….it’s warm and our Crocuses and Tulips and Daffodils are starting to come up. We are excited because the garden means we can do things and not fight too much. Oh yeah, as long as I do things according to Mrs Shooters plans, no fight. The garden is a proving grounds for love and lasting relationships.

Hey, I didn’t make it up, some old couple back in the Roman Empire days did, I’m just passing it on to youse. Well, here’s the point. Youse alls eyes are still closed and you’re warm in the garden as I’m out here freezing my ass off. So, the squirrels see our garden as the local grocery store. Yeah, no kidding. They go up and down the aisles, grab some strawberries, maybe raspberries or even some lettuce or whatever they want.

They like to dig the bulbs up. I planted 350 2 years ago. They were Snow Crocuses. Beautiful and a sure sign that winter is ending. Now, I had 7 last spring. Yep, grocery shopping for squirrels. and actually play together. We even got a killer cat. Barsik the killer cat. He’s like 26 lbs and the king of the garden. Well, he’s a pacifist. him and the squirrels are friends, they play together. Just great.

I got my son-in-law to get me a BB gun. I’m in the garage and I got my camos on, night vision helmet, radio commo, air support, my trusty BB gun ready to slaughter the squirrels. Tanya comes to the garage, now the firing range. She looks at me. What are you doing? I’m getting ready to launch an attack.

She grabs the gun, looks at me and says, look my hero, I made tea and Russian salad. I never did see the gun again.

We needed water and a few small things from the market. So I put on my backpack and head to the store in the snow. I get everything and start to head home and low and behold, there, there right in front of me is Ralph the squirrel. He’s not looking too good. Actually, he’s preserved from the cold.

I pull my TG-4 out of my pocket and look at Ralph and make a photo. Of course, I can’t be sure it’s actually Ralph the squirrel. I mean maybe it’s Ralphess the lady squirrel. I felt in that moment, that we need to appreciate life in all its forms. Maybe I saw the light that squirrels are really my friends and I need to make the garden and slave out there and listen to Tanya tell me I do everything wrong unless it’s done her way so we don’t get to eat anything but we have fat ass squirrels running around and I’m supposed to be grateful that the squirrels bless me by eating and destroying everything and making houses in the trees so when I walk by they can drop squirrel turd on me head.

Nah… wait till Springtime you bastards, we go to war again.. For now, I take a moment to remember Ralph the squirrel.

Ok, that’s enough….. stay warm youse fine peeps…….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 38 … Olympus TG-4 … Happy New Years

December 31, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

First off, Happy New Years to one and all. If you’re from Philadelphia, Happy Mummers Day.

“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’ into the future”. Now that year’s end is upon us, personally, I sit and look at what I have set out to do and what I have accomplished thru the year. I do this every year and the task is the same but the things I look at and realize the truth of is slightly different every year. It’s kinda like a cleaning out and sorting of energy. We can all have different energies for the different things we do in our lives. This is a known fact and not just here in Philly. I’m not kidding ya either. The way I see it is, we have a volume of energy inside us. Let’s say we have 1000ml of energy inside us. Ok, go on, say it….ty kindly.

Our eye, heart, and mind decides where to distribute this energy. Some goes to everyday task, some to risk and challenges, and some to the area we are concerned with, creative arts, namely photography. Lets assume that we are allocated 500ml for photography. As the year goes on and our vision and work progresses, the level of energy may stay the same, go up or even go down.

We can’t hide from the demons or angels inside us. We must and have to confront them and try to change the way we see things and deal with things. This is the only way to move forward in a positive manner. I get a lot of messages and emails etc from ppl that are dealing with thier work and seem kinda in love but lost on thier path. This is really good. It shows that these ppl are aware that what they do is being scrutinized by thier own eye.

I don’t claim to be a guru or anything other then a shooter that fell madly in love with photography over 50 years ago. I struggle like everyone else but the difference is, I know to blame myself for all the shit that happens.

So, as we wind up the Year 2015 and start the year 2016 maybe we can sort out the energy and get a refill in our energy cup to continue the journey but with a fresh outlook for the new year. For me that comes tomorrow morning with the Mummers Parade. For the rest of you it means, Happy, Healthy New Years. Mummers Day marks the celebration of a new year but more importantly., it marks the continuing journey of LIFE.

Be Blessed and Be Safe youse all. I wish youse were all here…..nah… keep thehell out, too many damn shooters here as it is…..

…………………………….end transmission………..2015……….over and out………………………………………………

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer